Abstract
An anisotropic microstructure has been discovered in vapour-deposited, amorphous rare-earth/transition-metal films. The structure consists of columnar regions of from 50-200 AA in diameter that are surrounded by a network of less dense material. The authors were able to produce a perpendicular component of magnetic anisotropy in amorphous Gd-Co films by evaporation in an oxygen atmosphere of approximately 10-6 Torr.